THE DETERMINANTS OF DEADLY FORCE - A STRUCTURAL-ANALYSIS OF POLICE VIOLENCE

Political or threat explanations for the state's use of internal viole nce suggest that killings committed by the police should be greatest i n stratified jurisdictions with more minorities. Additional political effects such as race of the city's mayor or reform political arrangeme nts are examined. The level of interpersonal violence the police encou nter and other problems in departmental environments should account fo r these killing rates as well. Tobit analyses of 170 cities show that racial inequality explains police killings. Interpersonal violence mea sured by the murder rate also accounts for this use of lethal force. S eparate analyses of police killings of blacks show that cities with mo re blacks and a recent growth in the black population have higher poli ce killing rates of blacks, but the presence of a black mayor reduces these killings. Such findings support latent and direct political expl anations for the internal use of lethal force to preserve order.